Picks for stringed instruments such as guitars, mandolins, and various other stringed instruments, have been known and utilized for many years. Such picks are generally of an overall triangular or teardrop shape, having parallel opposed surfaces Such picks must be firmly grasped between the thumb and a finger of the musician, usually the forefinger; otherwise, there will be a tendency for the pick to slip in the fingers of the musician.
The prior art has long recognized this slippage problem and suggested that the finger portion of the pick have indentations to receive the thumb and/or a finger of a player in the gripping portion of a pick to prevent slippage in the fingers of a player. Such prior art is exemplified in U.S. Pat. Nos. 557,293; 1,009,403; 1,184,561; 1,263,740; 1,461,070; and 3,112,668.
However, this prior art has not taken into consideration the basic manner in which a musician's pick is held by the musician. Additionally, such prior art has not taken into consideration the basic manner in which a string of a stringed instrument is stroked to create vibration and ultimately, a note therefrom. When a musician, such as a guitarist, strokes a string, the pick should rapidly come off the string so that the musician may be in a position to stroke another string or the same string for the next note. In the picks presently used the picking portion must be pushed through a string until the pick snaps off the string. This limits the time that a musician has for transferring from one note to the next.
Accordingly, the present invention provides a new and improved pick for stringed instruments, which includes a new and improved gripping portion for the fingers of a musician, and further provides a picking portion which will slide off a string to permit rapid vibration thereof without taking the time required to have the pick stroked through the string.